Tulip Portraits

Apricot Parrot Tulip

Although I love all flowers, I’ve never been a big fan of the run-of-the-mill tulip. You know the kind, you see them everywhere. They're yellow or red or pink and they're the first thing popping out of the ground in spring. You see them bunched together at the grocery store checkout. In Seattle on May Day people would be handing them out on the street. There’s nothing wrong with them, they just always seemed a little plain. When I discovered a whole other world of tulip varieties that exists, I was blown away. 

Parrot Tulip Portrait

My favorites by far are the Parrot Tulip varieties. The soft, feathery wisps of petals are almost like sea creatures compared to the plain – yet classic – Sun Gold variety. I grew these Apricot colored Parrot Tulips from bulbs on Vashon Island in the spring of 2023 when we were getting ready to sell our house. I wanted there to be flowers blooming for the open house so I made sure to plant them early. 

Tulips that look like Peonies

We returned to the island after the open house to meet with our realtor, and then headed to the house to gather up a few things left behind. To my delight, the tulips were blooming at their full peak! At this point, we had completely moved out of the house so even though closing was a few weeks away, we had booked a rental for the next month. I was crushed at the thought of these gorgeous flowers sitting in that raised bed all alone, so I pulled those 6 tulips up by the bulbs and took them with me to our rental. I mean, the house was still ours until closing so I figured I was well within my rights to claim them as my property, right?

Ready for her closeup

One morning shortly after we settled into our rental, the sunrise was particularly warm and springy so I decided the tulips deserved a portrait photo shoot so I could remember them forever. I’m so glad I have these photos. It’s not too late to get some bulbs of your own for a gorgeous treat this spring.